DeepSeek was founded in 2023 by Liang Wenfeng, previous in the financial industry
KIGALI – Chinese artificial intelligence company DeepSeek is gaining momentum among AI developers as its lower-cost models attract users looking for high performance at a fraction of the price charged by leading US-based AI companies.
According to analysis data from OpenRouter platform, DeepSeek’s recently released V4 Flash model has become the most-used large language model.
OpenRouter is an AI platform that allows developers to access and compare multiple AI models through a single API.
OpenRouter provides access to models from companies including OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, DeepSeek, Meta, Mistral, Qwen and others, allowing developers to select models based on factors such as cost, speed and performance.
The platform also publishes usage statistics that offer insight into developer preferences, although the data does not represent the entire global AI market because many large organisations use AI models directly from providers.
The latest analysis show DeepSeek’s rapid rise is being driven largely by its pricing advantage.
DeepSeek was founded in 2023 by Liang Wenfeng, a Chinese entrepreneur and artificial intelligence investor who previously co-founded High-Flyer, an AI-driven quantitative hedge fund.
The 40-year-old currently serves as DeepSeek’s CEO and has emerged as one of China’s most closely watched technology figures after the company’s AI models challenged leading global platforms such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google Gemini.
As DeepSeek’s influence and valuation continue to grow, Liang is increasingly being viewed as one of China’s rising tech fortunes, with analysts suggesting the company’s success could significantly boost his personal wealth in the coming years.
Several AI startup founders cited in the report said switching to DeepSeek reduced their monthly AI processing costs by between 60% and 85%, allowing smaller companies to build and scale AI-powered products more affordably.
The report describes this advantage as a “cost-effectiveness kill line” — a point where competing models become less attractive because they are either significantly more expensive or fail to deliver enough additional performance to justify the higher cost.
DeepSeek’s pricing strategy has increased pressure on established AI companies, including OpenAI and other major model providers, which have responded by lowering prices and adjusting their commercial approaches to compete for developers.
The analysis argues that developer adoption has become one of the most important battlegrounds in the artificial intelligence industry. Developers create the applications and services that determine how AI technologies are used in businesses, governments and consumer products.
The rise of DeepSeek highlights a broader shift in the AI race.
Beyond model capability, companies are increasingly competing on affordability, computing efficiency and the strength of their developer ecosystems — factors that could determine which firms lead the next stage of artificial intelligence growth.
